Need help with new baby sulcata

Status
Not open for further replies.

sheac88

New Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2011
Messages
12
Location (City and/or State)
Des Moines, IA
Hello all. My girlfriend and I have been doing some research on sulcata tortoises for a few months now and decided that we wanted to get one. So the opportunity arose a few days ago (12/30/10) to buy one for 50 dollars. We decided we were ready for it and ran to the store to get the needed supplies. Here is what we got:
-20 gallon long tank
-alfalfa pellets for bedding
-land tortoise food
-orchard grass
-75 watt heat bulb with fixture
-UVB fluorescent bulb and fixture
-log hide
-thermometer/hygrometer
The tortoise that we purchased is only about six months old. Since we brought him home I haven't seen him eat and he sleeps most of the time. He seems to get pretty active when I give him his daily soak. But when placed back in his enclosure, he finds a place to lay down and sleep. I can't find much info on this young of tortoise and what is normal behavior. I tried moistened tortoise food, romaine lettuce, wet orchard grass, dandelion leaves, and a bit of mashed banana. He was biting at some orchard grass earlier tonight but didn't actually eat any. So I'm wondering if anyone here would be able to help me determine if this is normal behavior for a baby tort or if there is something wrong with him.
Thanks!
 

Yvonne G

Old Timer
TFO Admin
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
93,390
Location (City and/or State)
Clovis, CA
Hi Sheac88:

Welcome to the forum!!

May we know your name and where you are?
 

sheac88

New Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2011
Messages
12
Location (City and/or State)
Des Moines, IA
Tom said:
Hello and welcome. Read this and then get back to us with any specific questions you might have. There is a good chance that he's too cool and all the details of heating, lighting and housing are discussed in the link. How much does he weigh?

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-How-To-Raise-Sulcata-Hatchlings-and-Babies

He is around 60 grams. His heat is right about where it should be. 95-100 degrees in the baking area with the cool end at about 75-80 degrees.
 

Yvonne G

Old Timer
TFO Admin
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
93,390
Location (City and/or State)
Clovis, CA
LOL! A little Freudian slip there? We usually call it the "basking" area, but truth be told, some of us actually DO bake them!!
 

sheac88

New Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2011
Messages
12
Location (City and/or State)
Des Moines, IA
emysemys said:
LOL! A little Freudian slip there? We usually call it the "basking" area, but truth be told, some of us actually DO bake them!!

Lol I'm typing from my phone and predictive text doesn't always predict what you want to say.
BTW my name is Shea and I have updated my profile info lol
 

coreyc

Active Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Oct 2, 2010
Messages
3,919
Location (City and/or State)
Massachusetts
Welcome Shea :) I would loose the alfalfa pellets an get some cypress mulch .what kind of UVB bulb did you get ? can you post some pic's?:)
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,269
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
Hi Shea. I love DesMoines. Spent about six weeks there last winter. Kane heat mats are manufactured there. You'll need one in a few years.

Your temps sound pretty good. Like coreyc said, the pellets have got to go. Swap them out for something that you can keep damp for humidity. Have you warm water soaked him yet? You ought to every day. You'll also need a humid hide box and a water saucer if you want him to grow up healthy and smooth. I also think your enclosure is much too small. They need a lot of room to roam. Like a horse, movement aids with their digestion. It helps to move things along. Its all in that care sheet.

Sometimes they do take a few days to settle in too.
 

moswen

New Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Mar 15, 2010
Messages
903
hey! i agree with corey, do not use alfalfa pellets. your baby sully needs slightly moist substrate and alfalfa pellets mold... i used the same thing before i joined the forum and they molded in like a week...

you should soak him/her every day for at least 15 minutes in warm bath water. this combined with a humid hide and/or moist substrate will keep your tort from pyramiding.

i use cypress mulch but coco coir is also a good substrate. you need to water it down, esp. undter the basking spot, every few days. don't keep it visibly wet, but don't let it get bone dry... does that make a good picture for you? does is your uvb bulb look like a coil bulb? or is it a UVA/UVB mercury vapor bulb (MVB)? the coil looking bulbs have been known to cause eye problems in tortoises, i would not recommend using this. the mvbs are kind of expensive, but i would whole-heartedly recommend getting one. i use powersun. they're good for a year, then you need to replace them because the UVA/UVB burns out of them.

from this post: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-PowerSun-MVB-for-30-Bucks i bet you could coerce someone into getting one for you and shipping it to you, we're all very helpful and we love to help fellow TFO members and tortoise lovers lol! but--- whatever you do, buy one online before you go to the pet store! petsmart and petco and the little local pet store in the town next to me all sell their mvbs for $80 and up... online you can find them in the $40s.

i swear, i think you and i useed the same pet store when we went to buy stuff for our torts! this all sounds so familiar! at 6 mos. old your hatchling won't eat hay, mine didn't either, and the land tortoise food is just a bunch of crap. the best thing to feed your baby is greens. good fresh greens from the grocery store or grown in pots this winter until you can plant them outside in the spring. some really great things to feed your baby are:

mustard,turnip,and dandelion greens
kale
endive and escarole
you can get something called "spring mix" in plastic boxes or bags in the lettuce section of the grocery store, this is good for them because it contains such a variety, and all tortoises need a good variety!
mulberry leaves
grape leaves
hibiscus leaves and flowers
small amounts of aloe vera
agave
opuntia, also called "prickly pear" cactus, is the very best thing you can feed your baby, but be careful about over-feeding, it can cause loose stools, which can lead to dehydration. i feed opuntia to mine every other day or every few days. you can buy these pads from people on the forum or other places online, and order a couple to plant when you get them, they're really easy to grow.
butternut squash
spaghetti squash
pumpkin (i buy canned pumpkin when it's not halloween... but make sure you buy canned pumpkin, not pumpkin pie mix. and feed once a week or less)
you can also get some mazuri tortoise diet, there are lots of people on the forum who sell this as well, it's good to feed 2-3 pellets once a week cause it's got lots of grasses in it, it's a little brown pellet that you'll need to soak in warm water before you feed it to a baby. this will become your sully's favorite food!

**there are obviously waay more things to feed your torts but these are what i grow, and from a list just off the top of my head. this will give you a good head start and you can come into a routine that's good for you in a few months**

something else that i do in all my tortoise enclosures is i use old lids from the plastic raspberry containers, i turn them upside down and plant mustard green seeds, turnip green seeds, squash seeeds, pumpkin seeds, dandelion seeds, a sulcata seed mix, and a wildflower seed mix, i just randomly choose a seed and toss it in there. all my tortoises love it, as soon as those seeds sprout 2 little buds they're gone before the day's end. it's a really good way to get fresh greens to your tort.

this is the website i use when i buy sulcata seed mix: www.sulcatafood.com



sometimes it takes the tort a couple of days to feel comfortable in his new home, being moved around is pretty scary. however, i'm a little concerned about the fact that he's biting at the food infront of him but not eating it. this is exactly what's going on with my little yana right now and it's really scary to go through... where did you get him? have you weighed him? have you taken his fecal to the vet? have you taken him to the vet? what are your temps? he may be too cold, since you said he's really active after a bath, which would warm him up, then he may just be getting too cold to be more active after that. if he was in a pen with cagemates he may have been being bullied and it may take him a few days to realize he's alone now and he won't be bullied away from his food if he eats it.... there are just so many possibilities! my little safina's just a shy girl and spends a lot of time hiding, but she eats. moswen will trump around his enclosure for several hours playing "king of the enclosure" and laying claim to everything his eyes fall upon... just different personalities.

well, i'm done with my novel! hope this helps!
 

Laura

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
5 Year Member
Joined
Sep 5, 2007
Messages
7,502
Location (City and/or State)
Foothills above Sacramento CA
Not sure where you did your research.. but its not the best info you got.. as you are finding..
They dont eat Orchard grass hay till they are older, loose the pellets for the substrate and the tort food..
Mazuri might be better along with the list mentioned above..

For grass seed.. I went to my local nursery and bought pasture grass mix with clover.. and some bermuda seed..
What kind of yard do you have planned?
oh.. and welcome!
 

sheac88

New Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2011
Messages
12
Location (City and/or State)
Des Moines, IA
I have a florescent tube on him not a coil bulb. His basking area is at 100 degrees right now with the cool end staying at 80 degrees. I mainly offer him fresh veggies but I am trying anything to get him to eat. He gets soaked everyday for about 30 minutes. I purchased him from a friend of a friend who bought 2 at a reptile show. She kept them for about 2 months in a snake rack in a plastic sterilite tub with sand substrate. She didn't want them anymore and said that she couldn't provide the care that they needed. I'm going to switch to cypress bedding today. I have a plastic humid hide box in there on the basking side. He has barely moved today, and still won't eat. He is only being handled when we go to soak him. I don't think he is too cold because when placed in the basking area he walks back to the cool side. His last bowl movement was last Thursday while being soaked at his previous "home". He hasn't defected since he has been with me. No I haven't taken him to a vet yet.
 

Yvonne G

Old Timer
TFO Admin
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
93,390
Location (City and/or State)
Clovis, CA
He's probably pretty stressed out over having two new homes in such a short period of time. Do you know what the previous owner has been offering as food? And do you know if the tortoise actually ate the food at his previous owner's?

If you can find out what the tortoise is used to identifying as food, you should also offer that until you can get the tortoise used to his new home. There's time enough to change the diet to a more nutritious one once the tortoise has accepted his new digs.

Take a look through the for sale thread for "spikethebest". He's offering to send out a free sample of Mazuri Tortoise Diet. It might be worth it to try it on your baby. My sulcata turned his nose up at it, but you never know.

Also, they sometimes won't eat if they can smell the calcium powder on the food, so for the time being, don't sprinkle any over the tortoise's meals.

Good luck with your baby. I hope you can find something that makes him want to eat.
 

sheac88

New Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2011
Messages
12
Location (City and/or State)
Des Moines, IA
emysemys said:
He's probably pretty stressed out over having two new homes in such a short period of time. Do you know what the previous owner has been offering as food? And do you know if the tortoise actually ate the food at his previous owner's?

If you can find out what the tortoise is used to identifying as food, you should also offer that until you can get the tortoise used to his new home. There's time enough to change the diet to a more nutritious one once the tortoise has accepted his new digs.

Take a look through the for sale thread for "spikethebest". He's offering to send out a free sample of Mazuri Tortoise Diet. It might be worth it to try it on your baby. My sulcata turned his nose up at it, but you never know.

Also, they sometimes won't eat if they can smell the calcium powder on the food, so for the time being, don't sprinkle any
Good luck with your baby. I hope you can find something that makes him want to eat.
He was only eating zoo med natural grassland tortoise food at his previous homeShe gave me a small bag of it for him but he won't eat that either.
 
M

Maggie Cummings

Guest
He's sick and needs to go to the Vet right now before he gets any worse. This is not just being stressed out from moving, a healthy Sulcata would be eating by now. Your temps are right on and he's still not eating and he's lethargic so I strongly suggest a visit to the Vet is in order...here's 2 from our Vet list they should see exotics. I called all of them personally to make sure they see tortoises...


Rick L. Harmon, DVM
Oaks Veterinary Clinic
2030 27th Street
Des Moines, IA 50310
Tel: (515) 279-3654



Liz Conger, DVM
Des Moines Veterinary Hospital
21935 Pacific Highway S.
Des Moines, IA 98198
Tel: (206) 878-4111
 

sheac88

New Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2011
Messages
12
Location (City and/or State)
Des Moines, IA
Thanks! I've gone to doctor harmon before for any issues with my ball pythons so I'll probably go that route.
 

moswen

New Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Mar 15, 2010
Messages
903
i agree with maggie, vet should be your next course of action.

you need to find out if the previous owner soaked them at all, he could have a case of hatchling failure syndrome too, if the previous owner kept him on sand then his substrate was likely not moist and hatchlings need humidity and moisture on a daily basis.
 
M

Maggie Cummings

Guest
Please take him to the Vet right away, I just now read where you say he was on sand for 2 months...that's bad, he could have ingested some and that's what's wrong with him. He's impacted if he is sick and you wait too long you're screwed. Tortoises are sick for a long time before they show any symptoms. So that means he's been sick for a while now...JMO
 

sheac88

New Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2011
Messages
12
Location (City and/or State)
Des Moines, IA
Yeah I have an appointment for him to go in at the rd of the week. Is there anything else I should be doing for him until then? I heard to try a strawberry and see if that can get him to eat. He did urinate on me earlier tonight lol. Is that a good sign?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top